Device for controlling the transmission of power to pumps



J. C. MYERS Aug. 10, 1943.

DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING THE TRANSMISSION OF POWER TO PUMPS Filed Aug. 25. 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. JOHN C. MYERS BY A r'rare/vfr J. c. MYERS.

Aug. 10, 1943.

DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING THE TRANSMISSION OF POWER TO PUMPS Filed Aug. 25, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Jo H N C. M Y E R s Gum W\@ flr'rofelvxrr llllllll L N 6% mm m Patented Aug. 10, 1943 DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING THE TRAN S- MISSION OF POWER TO PUMPS John C. Myers, Sperry, Okla assignor of onehalt to .l. W. Scott Drilling Company, Tulsa,

Okla, a corporation ofTexa-s Application August 25, 1941, Serial No. 4%,150' (o1.1es 2e) 6 Claims.

discontinued. For example, water or oil may be.

profitably pumped at intervals from many wells Without exhausting the supply of liquid, but the intervals are usually uncertain, and the delivery of air or other gas to the pumps is likely to result in abrasion at the pump itself, and destructive stresses in the operating mechanism. By automatically stopping such pumps when the delivery of liquid is discontinued, the present invention positively eliminates the above mentioned hazard, and provides for safe and economical pumping of the liquid. p

In the use of pumps for lifting oil from wells, a single operator is c-ft'en required to attend to the pumping of many widely scattered wells. The operator usually begins by going from one well to another to start the pumps, or to inspect the pumping mechanism, and he then attends to other duties. Experience has very clearly shown that when the flow of oil to such pumps is discontinued, the pumps should be immediately stopped, but in actual practice the operator is unable to constantly observe the conditions at all of the wells, especially where the wells are widely separated and a number of pumps are operating at the same time. A similar condition arises when a person has only one well to contend with, as a single pump does not usually justify constant attention, and may be inspected only once or twice a day, perhaps to start-the morning and stop it in the evening. a

cessive friction in the working barrel of the pump requires the operators to pull the long tubing, sucker rods and pump from the deep well,in order that the worn parts may be replaced. All of this involves a loss of production of oil during the period required for repairs, as Wellas increased operating costs, and the production'of the objectionable emulsified oil for some time after the required pumping mechanism" is restored and placed in service. Q

' Another important advantage of the invention appears inrthe fact that it permits theordinary simple pumping equipment to be safely used in pumping'oil from very deep wells. Heretofore,

- wells The destructive strains and-abrasion due to delivery of air or gas to the plunger are likely to break the extremely long sucker rods, or cause other injury thatwould be'impossible, or not feasible, to repair in a very deep well. Thenew device automatically: stops the'pumpingv mechadeep wells.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, theinvention comprises the novel construction,

combination and arrangement of partshereinafter more'specificallydescribed and shown in the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one form ofthe invention. However, it is to be understood that the invention comprehends changes, variations and modifications within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

4O pump in the However, the operation of a pump after the flow remaining in the well, and causes undue wear on the working parts of the pump, at the same time subjecting the pumping mechanism to destructive jerking which causes fatigue in themetal and is likely to break the sucker rods, thereby. requir ing difi'icult fishing to remove the broken rods.

The emulsified'oil is a very troublesome product not acceptable to pipe line companies, and exparts broken away, showing the pump plunger working barrel which operates in av cylindrical near the bottom of the well.

Fig. 3 is a top view illustrating a stopping deivice' adapted to discontinue the. transmission of power, to the plunger when air or other gaseous fluid is admitted to the plunger. I

, ig/l is'a side view of the device shown in Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 in l. To understand the principle of the invention,

one should bear in mind certain conditions existing in an ordinary pump. Therefore, without in any way limiting the claims, I will briefly describe a few details of an oil well pump, and then 7 refer to special conditions employed by me to control the automatic stopping device.

An ordinary simple pumpof this kind shown in Fig.1 and Fig. 2, comprises a cylindrical working barrel l8 located near the bottom or" the well, and a string of tubing l I through which the oil is lifted from said working barrel to a dis- A pump plunger l3 reciprocating in the working barrel Ill is usually operated by a string of sucker rods l4 extending upwardly from the plunger charge pipe 12 above the surface of the ground.

and connected to the operating mechanism above the ground. The bottom of the working barrel.

I!) may be equipped with a simple check valve 15 to provide for the admission of oil to the working barrel. The reciprocating plunger 13 may be equipped with a traveling check valve lawhich theoil from the surrounding casing I? into the working barrel l9 and thereafter lift theoil through the tubing H which extends upwardly from the working barrel. a

Attention is now directed to the following conditions: I c V The weight to be lifted consists of the long string of sucker rods l4, and the plunger l3, and the weight of the long columnof liquid extending from the :check valve Win the plunger to the discharge pipe 12 above the ground. However, during each normal downward stroke, the check valve 15 at the bottom of. the working barrel is closed, and there is a column of oil extending from this bottom check valve to the upper end of the tubing H. As aconsequence, during each normal downward stroke,the sucker rods and plunger merely fall in this column of liquid, and the weight is then limited to. the ac.- tual weight of .the sueker'rodsand plunger, minus a the buoyant effect of the body of .liquid, so that between the check valve IS in the plunger and.

the check valve 15 at the bottom of "the working barrel, the weight during a downward stroke would be approximately the same as the weight to be lifted during an upward stroke, In this event the check valve 15 in the plunger will remain closed/due to the'downward pressure of the tall column of oil. Insteadof merely fallingin a buoyant liquid, the plunger is now forced downwardly by this very heavy column. of liquid. and

the air below the plunger willbe readily'com pressed by this high pressure, or forced back wardly through any leak at the. bottom 'check valve l5.

I will hereinafter explain how I take advantage ofthis abnormal weight during. a downward stroke to actuate the automatic stopping device,

actual weight of the thereby stoppingthe transmission of power to the pump.

The operating means shown in Fig. 1 comprises a pump jack [8 having a pivotal support !9 and connected by means of a cable to a polish rod 2i at the upper end of the string of sucker rods It; The means for operating said pump jack comprises a pull line 22' connected to the jack, and an eccentric 23 driven by a rotary power shaft 24, said eccentric being surrounded by a band 25 connected to a pull rod 25.

To illustrate a suitable means for transmitting power from the pull rod 28, I have shown a hook 21 at one end of said pull rod, and a link 23 pivoted at 2%. The hook is normally coupled to the link 28 as shown by full lines in Fig. 1 and Fig. 4, but under certain conditions, the hook will move to the left independently of the link, thereby permitting said link to drop by gravity to the position shown by dotted lines. In other words, the link 28 is an uncoupling member adapted to release the pump plunger from the source of power.

The means for connecting the link 28 to the pull line 22 may include a driving tube 30 extending from said link and a driven tube 3! connected to said pull line 22 as shownin Figures 1, 3 and l. The. tubes 30 and 3'! are alined with each other and slidably supported in a stationary guide tube 32 fixed to a stationary post 33. The inner ends of theslidable tubes 30 and ,3! are separated from each other, but in the specific form of the invention herein shown, these tubes 38 and 3.! are connected together by means of a wire cable 34 made of spring steel and having itsends firmly connected to the outer ends of said slidable tubes, as shown in Fig. 5, wherein SS-indicates lead joints'permanently connecting said cable to the outer ends of the tubes 39 an 3|.

Therefore, the lifting power is transmitted from the hook 2i through the cable 34, said cable being tensioned during the lifting strokes when the column oiliquid is moved upwardly on the pump plunger, and permitted to relax when the plunger moves downwardly in the column of liquid. The slidable tubes 3 1 and 3| reciprocate with the cable 34, and one of these tubes can be conveniently employed to stop the transmission of power to the pump plunger. For example, the stopping'device may include an abutment, or stopmember, 36 in the form of a Weight normally located above the path of the reciprocating tube 35, as shown in Fig. 5. A latch'3'! nor mally retains the stop member 36 in the inoperative position shown in Fig. 5, but when this latch is released, said stop member will fall into the path of the tube 39, and the inner end of said tube will eventually engage said stop'member .during'a downward stroke of the pump plunger. When this occurs, the power hook 2'. will move to the left independently of the tube 36, so as to release the link-28 at the outer end of. said tube as. The link 28 then drops to the position shown bydotted lines in Fig. 4 to discontinue the transmission of power to the pump plunger, while .the stop member 35 cooperates with the. inner end of tube 39 to limit the-downward .movement of the pump plunger. Thereafter, when the operator desires toagain proceed with the pumping operations, the link 28 is lifted into the path of the reciprocating power hook 2T andafter the tube 33 is released from the stop member-iii, the lattercan be readily lifted and engaged with the latch 31, as shown in Fig. 5.

The means for releasing the latch 31 to automatically discontinue the transmission of power may include an operating rod 38 extending from said latch and having a free end portion 39 movable vertically in a vertical guide 43. A trigger 4i is secured to the operating rod 38 by means of a set screw 42, which permits the trigger to be secured in different positions on the rod 38.

Before describing the peculiar movements of the automatic stopping member 43, I will state that it may be provided with an abrupt abutment surface 45 at one end, and an inclined cam surface 45 at the opposite end. Under certain conditions to be hereafter described, the abrupt abutment surface 45 strikes an abrupt abutment surface 46 on the trigger ii while the tube 3! is moving to the left, thereby moving the rod 38 to the left and releasing the latch 31 from the stop member 35, so as to automatically stop the pump plunger. Under other conditions, the inclined surface 46 of the member 48 moves to the right under an inclined surface t? of the trigger 4! but this merely imparts an idle upward movement to the free end of rod 33 and does not tend to release the latch 37.

The foregoing details provide a suitable series of stopping members 36, 4! and which I have found satisfactory in actual commercial practice. but any other suitable stopping device may be employed in connection with the separate and distinct features of my oscillatory control device which includes an oscillator driven by the source of power, and a stopping member controlled by said oscillator.

Without limiting the invention to specific ole.- tails of the oscillatory control member, I will state that it preferably oscillates in response to as to automatically discontinue the transmission jectingmember 43 onto the bottom longitudinal wall of the slot 44, and that this projecting member will remain in contact with said bottom wall when the cable isrelatively free of longitudinal tension. However, when the cable is subjected to a longitudinal pulling action, the resultant tension will tend to retwist said cable, thereby imparting an upward movement to the member d3 projecting from the tube 3li If the tension is great enough, this member 43 will move to thc'topbf the slot44. Y T

7 During the normal pumping operations, the

cable 34 is tensioned in response to each lifting stroke of the pump plunger, and relaxed during each downward stroke when the plunger merely rails in the tall column of liquid. The cable is free to twist and untwist in response to such 'variations'in the load at the pump plunger, and the tube 3! oscillates with the cable.

During each normal downward stroke of the pump plunger, the-cable 34 is relatively free of tension, 50 the projecting member 43 travels along the bottom wall ofthe slot 44, in a plane entirely beyondthe trigger 4!, so the normal downward strokes do not have any effect upon a said trigger 4!. During 'each'upward strokeof of power to the plunger when a gaseous fluid is delivered to said plunger. If desiredthe oscilla tion can be conveniently obtained through the medium of a torsional member'made of spring material and free to twist and untwist in response to variations in the load at the pump plunger.

To illustrate a suitable oscillatory control member I have shown the helical cable 34 having its ends connected to the slidable tubes and 3i. In assembling the device, a forcible untwisting movement is imparted to this cable by holding the tube 3! and turning the tubetfl. For example, when the tube 35 is in the stationary tube 32, the projecting member in the slot 44 will then limit the rotary mcvement of said initial untwlsting movement of one-half the pump plunger, the cable 34 is tensioned and moved longitudinally'to lift the tall column of liquid supported on the pump plunger. This tensioning or" the cable shifts the projecting member 43 to the top wall o f'the'slot '44- where it is alined with the lower portion of the trigger 4i; However, at this time the projecting member l3 is moving to the right and its inclined face lt? may freely engage the inclined face 41 to impart an idle lifting movement to the-trigger ll. This idle movement'to'the right does not tend to release the latch 37 shown in Fig. 5; r

Itwill now be understood that the normal.

pumping strokes cause the cable to oscillate about its longitudinal axis, and that the oscilla tory movements are transmitted fromsaid. cable to the sliding tube 36 and its projecting abut- V ment member 43 without stopping the normal transmission of power to the pump plunger.-

Assuming now that the delivery of liquid to the pump plunger 53 is discontinued, and that air or gas isdrawn into the lower portion of'the pump cylinder mat the check valve'lfi (Fig. 2); During an upward stroke, the cable 34 will then be tensioned as usual, due to the weight or the plunger l3-and suclrer rods l4, plus the weight of the tall Icolumn of liquid supported on the plunger. However, an abnormal condition will appear duringthenext' downward stroke. There is a body of gas below the plunger and a very heavy'colurnnof liquid above the plunger, exerting downward pressure on the check valve l6 vin the plunger. ditions, the weight durin a downward stroke may be app'roximatelythe same as the weight to be lifted duringl an upward stroke. Therefore, instead of relaxing, the cable 34, will be retained under tension" during the abnormal, downward stroke. As a consequence, the projecting abutment 43 will be retained at the upper portion of the slot M where its abutment surface 45 is alined with a portion ofthe trigger 4|. This condition will exist at thebeginning of the ab-j normal downward stroke of the pump plunger,

STKFig. 5) and. permitting the stopping abut- Under these abnormal con-T ment 3.6 to fall into the path of thetube 30. When the inner end of .said tube 30 is stopped by the abutment 35, the ,power hook 21 will continue its movement to the left, so as to release the pivoted coupling link 28, thereby disconnecting the power from the pump plunger.

, 'In this form of the invention, wherein the power mechanism is uncoupled when gas is delivered to the pump plunger, it may appear that the uncoupling operation would permit free rotation of the tube 30 which was deliberately set to produce the predetermined initial torsion in the cable. However, before this uncoupling operation is performed, the inner end of said tube 30 firmly contacts with the stopping abutment 36, and the pressure or friction at the contacting areas is very great, due to the heavy load supported on the pump plunger which tensions the cable 34 and forces the tube 38 into frictional engagement with the stopping abutment 36. This friction prevents rotary displacement of the tube 30, and said tube is not released until the pump is again started by coupling the power hook 21 to the link 28. The stopping abutment 36 is then lifted by hand and secured by the latch 31, which resets the parts for continued operation until the automatic stopping abutment 43 again actuates thestopping trigger 4|. 7

Actual tests of the invention on a commercial scale at various oil wells have clearly shown that a simple oscillatory controlling device of the type herein disclosed provides a complete and entirely feasible solution of the old problems in this art. t has the advantages of extreme simplicity, low manufacturing costs, unexpected durability, and the outstanding advantage of absolute certainty in its effect upon the stopping device. 7

Instead of adding a source of danger to persons employed in operating the pumping mechanism, the simple device'herein shown lacks a number of the usual elements of danger, and almost entirely eliminates the risk of personal injury at the means for connecting and disconnecting the power mechanism.

I-claim: r

1. In an apparatus for lifting liquid from a well provided with a pump plunger to lift the liquid, a cylinder in which the plunger reciprocates, said cylinder having an inlet through which liquid is delivered to the plunger under normal pumping conditions, said inlet providing for the admission of gaseous fluid to the cylinder when the flow of liquid is interrupted, anda source of-power to operate the plunger, the improvement which comprises a stoppingdevice to dis- 1 continue the transmission of power to the plunglator, and a stopping member to actuate said stopping device, said stopping member being in the path of said oscillatory operating member when said torsional oscillator is tensioned during a downward stroke of the pump plunger.

2.111 an apparatus for lifting liquid from a well providedwith a pump plunger to lift'the liquid, a cylinder in which the plunger reciprocates, said cylinder having an inlet through which liquid is delivered to the plunger under normal pumping conditions, said inlet providing for the admission of gaseous fluid to the cylinder when the fiow of liquidis interrupted, and a sourc of power to operate the plunger, the improvement which comprises a stepping device to'discontinue the transmission of'power to the plunger when a gaseous fluid is admitted through said inlet, said stopping device including a torsional oscillatorin the. form of a wire cable through which motion. is transmitted from said sourceoi power to said pump plunger, said wire cable being movable longitudinally under tension during the lifting strokesof said pump plunger, and relatively free of tension during the normal downward strokes, said wire cable being free to twist untwist in response to variations in the tension, so as to oscillate during the normal pumping operations, an osciilatory operating member driven by said wire cable, and a stepping member to actuate stopping device, said stopping member being in the path. of said osciilatoiy operating member when said wire cable is tensicned during a downward stroke of the pump plunger,

3. In an apparatus for lifting liquid from a well provided with a pump plunger to lift the liquids cylinder in which the plunger reciprocates, said cylinder having an inlet through which liquid is delivered to the plunger under normal pumping conditions, said inlet prov ing forthe admission of gaseousiiuid to the cylinder. when the flow of liquid is interrupted, and a source of power to operate saidplunger, th mprovement which comprises a stopping device to discontinue the transmission of power to the plunger when a gaseous fluid is admitted through said inlet, said stopping device including a torsional oscillator through which power is transmitted from said SOL "es of power to said pump plunger, stopping member controlled by said torsional oscillator to disconnect said oscillator from the source of power, and me us for retaining said torsional oscillator under a torsional stress when it is disconnected from the source of power.

4. In an apparatus lor lifting liquid from a well provide with a pump, plunger to lift the liquid, a cyli der whi hthe plunger reoipro c tos, said o nder having inlet through which id is delivered to the plunger under normal I conditions, said inlet providing for the n of gaseous fluid to the cylinder when flow of liquid is interrupted, and a source of the powerto operate the plunger, the improvement which ccrnprisesa stopping thetransmission of power to the or when a gaseous fluid is eds; ted through. sap. inlet, said stopping devi e comprising a pair of slidablc members alined with 'eac other, a torsional c'cillator connectin saidslidable m hers to transmit moveniwl' from the source of power to said urnp plun r, said torsional oscillator being movable longitudinally under tension during strokes of said s m plunger rely free of tension du ng the normal do-wm l id strokes of said plumer, torsional oscillater being free to twist and uutwist in response to variations in the tension, so to oscillate one of said slidable members du g the normal pumping operations, and a stopp *2 member con trolled by the last mentioned slidable member.

5. In an apparatus for lifting liquid froma device o discontinue well provided with a pump plunger to lift the liquid, a cylinder in which the plunger reciprocates, said cylinder having an inlet through which liquid is delivered to the plunger under normal pumping conditions, said inlet providing for the admission of gaseous fluid to the cylinder when the flow of liquid is interrupted, and a source of power to operate the plunger, the improvement which comprises a stopping device to discontinue the transmission of power to the plunger when a gaseous fluid is admitted through said inlet, said stopping device comprising a driving member connected to the source ofpower, a driven member connected to said pump plunger, a torsional oscillator connecting said driving and driven members, a guide in which the connected members are slidably mounted, a stop member movable into the path of said driving member to limit the movement thereof, an uncoupling device to disconnect said driving member from the source of power when said driving member engages said stop member, a latch to retain said stop member in an inoperative position, a trigger to release said latch, and a trip member carried by said driven member, said trigger being adjacent to the path of said trip member, said torsional oscillator being movable longitudinally under tension during the lifting strokes of said pump plungen'and relatively free of tension during the normal downward strokes of said plunger, said torsional oscillator being free to twist and 'untwist in response to variations in the tension,

so as to oscillate said driven member and trip member during the normal pumping operations,

and said trigger being in the path of-said trip provided with a pump plunger to lift the liquid,

a cylinder in which the plunger reciprocates, said cylinder having an inlet through which liquid locate 1 is delivered to the plunger under normal pumping conditions, said inlet providing for the admission of gaseous fluid to the cylinder when the flow of liquid is interrupted, and a source of power to operate the plunger, the improvement which comprises a stopping device to discontinue the transmission of power to the plunger when a gaseous fiuid is admitted through said inlet, said stopping device comprising a, driving tube connected to the source of power, a driven tube connected to said pump plunger, 2. torsional oscil" later in the form of a wire cable connecting said tubes, .a guide in which the connected tubes are g V slidably mounted, a stop member movable into the path of said driving tube to limit the mov 'ment thereof, an uncoupling device to disconnect said driving tube from the source or" power 7 when said driving tube engages said stop mem her, a latch to retain said stop member m an inoperative position, an operating member extending from said latch, a trigger secured to said operating member and adjustable to selected positions along said operatim member, said guide having a longitudinal slot, a trip member carried by said driven tube and ext nding through said slot, said trigger being adjacent to the path of said trip member, said torsional oscillator being movable longitudinally under tension during the lifting strokes of said pump plunger, and relatively free of tension during the normal downward strokes of said plunger, said torsional oscillator being free to twist and untwist in response to variations in the tension, so as to oscillate said driven tube and trip member during the normal pumping operations, said trigger being inthe path of said trip member when said torsional oscillator isten- 

